Thursday, January 15, 2009

My Hidden Talent

Okay, here’s something about me that I don’t think you know.

It's pretty quirky cool.

I like to do surveys.

Yes, I like to do the little surveys that come in the mail and I always reveal too much information in them.

But, those aren’t the type of surveys I would like to talk about today.

I like to make up MY OWN surveys!

If I have to wait in the car while Randy goes into the store I just make up a survey to do while I wait. In restaurants I make up surveys to do. At the movies, in the car, at school, anywhere really, I like to make up surveys.

You may be asking, “What kind of surveys do you do?”

Thank you for asking. I would be happy to explain.

Here are a few examples of the surveys that I make up:

When in a fast food restaurant I prefer to sit where I can keep an eye on the drink machine. I like to see which soda gets the most refills. I don’t care what drink is picked first. I’m just interested in refills. The people that drink Dr. Pepper get the most refills. This is a long running survey and the results have continuously been the same.

Here’s another one. Have you ever seen the food stand when you come out of Lowe’s? They sell hotdogs, chips and drinks. They may sell other things, but I haven’t actually ever eaten anything from there. While in the car I’ve surveyed how many people stop at the stand verses how many people don’t stop there. The results were 1 in 5 groups stop to get something from the stand. That’s pretty amazing. That hotdog guy is making some cash. While doing the survey I noticed that if someone came out with a huge amount of stuff they never stopped. I guess they were focused on getting their loot to the car.

You want another one? Okay. I like to play “The Car Game.” I’ve played it since I was a little girl and my Grandma Jody got me started on it. (Probably where my passion for surveys began.) We would sit on her front porch on S. Mockingbird, pick a color of car and when our color would pass we would get a point. No doubt about it…the color WHITE always wins. If you choose to play this game your kids and you want to win…Pick White.

I also like to park my car near a busy street and tally up how many cars, trucks, suvs, motorcycles and “other” cars pass. This survey ends up differently depending on where I’m doing the survey. On the far north side there are more cars. Far south has a lot of SUVs’. Clyde is full of trucks. When I need a little break from the house I’ve been known to drive down the street a little bit and do this survey. This one is easy and doesn’t require a lot of thinking. I just make out my chart and then make tally marks when a car passes. It’s relaxing to me and it gets my mind off things.

At the movies 90% of the time when a man and woman go to the movies together the man sits closer to the aisle. I think it’s a protective thing. It really doesn’t make much sense other than that because who in the movies have to get up to go to the bathroom? Women.

There’s a sample of my surveys that I make up. I hope you enjoyed that detail of my life that not many people know. I have one year left at Hardin Simmons to get my degree in Sociology. I picked this major because of all the statistics….and because of all the SURVEYS!

11 comments:

Rachel said...

How in the heck have I known you for this long and you had this secret?!?!?! ;) I do like the restaurant drink one. . . interesting! I had great fun with you today . . . thanks for just being my friend! And, I did notice the strikethrough. . . even more impressive than the statistics!

Amanda said...

Wow! You're coolness level just went way up. That is so neat!

Cherryberry said...

That is a totally cool and valid talent/hobby. You never know when it may come in handy. Keep on tallying. I am a sucker for surveys, too.

Becky said...

Another reason why I love you!! You are so brilliant and creative. You are a blessing!

MONICA said...

Sounds like a researcher in there. I enjoy picturing you parked with your tally sheet...so random and in the moment, I'm inspired. We used to run outside on FM18 as kids to count the train cars.

Unknown said...

YOU MAKE ME LAUGH ALMOST EVERYTIME I COME TO YOUR.
THANKS FOR JUST BEING YOU.
AND I HAVE TO AGREE WITH AMANDA ON THIS ONE, YOUR COOLNESS LEVEL JUST WENT UP IN MY BOOK TOO. LOL

Tammy and Parker said...

Oh, Brandi. The boredom. It sounds delish! :D

Unknown said...

aaaawwwww heck Miss Brandi thanks for the coment, you make me blush.
LOL

trish said...

I was thinking DR.Pepper might pay good money to get this information documented. You might was to form a company really quickly and get them to pay.

Just curious,, have you done any surveys on what types of blogs solicit more comments. I have noticed usually random cute bogs get people to say something more often than serious blogs.

trish said...

sorry for all the typos- i still have these darn fake nails

Brandi Wilson said...

DONE the results!

There's no doubt about it~Serious blogs are a comment killer.